USA > California > Sonoma County > History of Sonoma County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county, who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present time > Part 48
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In the fall of that year. 1849. with a large herd of cattle Mr. Hopper set- tled with his family on thirty acres of land which he had bought in Sonoma township. Sonoma county. Beside- carrying on farming he also did teaming, a business which before the coming of the railroads was very remunerative, Mr. Hopper often receiving from $18 to $20 a day for his work. Selling his holdings in the spring of 1850. Mr. Hopper erected a house on a lot which he pur- chased in Sonoma, but disposed of it soon afterward for $1,000 and with the pro- ceeds went to Green valley and took up a claim upon which he lived until going to Sacramento in 1852. Later he took up a claim of one hundred and sixty acres on the Cotati grant, to which he added by the purchase of adjoining land until he had a ranch of twenty-three hundred and sixty acres. This property he gave to three of his daughters. He also owned other land, at one time having eighty- two hundred acres of redwood which he gave to his children. On December 28, 1878, Mr. Hopper came to Santa Rosa, but continued to make his home here only one year at that time, and after living on the ranch for a time he again be- came a resident of Santa Rosa. Since 1883 he has lived practically retired, hav-
R.P. Hent
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ing turned his extensive interests over to the care of his children. It is not to be supposed that Mr. Hopper has been content to sit with idly folded hands, however, but on the contrary he has been and still is active in the management of the various interests with which his name is associated. For a number of years he has been prominently identified with a number of large financial insti- tutions, serving as president of the Santa Rosa Bank, in which he owned stock to the amount of five hundred and thirteen shares. After selling this stock he bought $12,100 worth of shares in another institution, and $31,800 in the Ukiah Bank, the latter of which he gave to his son, Henry T. Hopper. Through- out his life he has been an active worker in Democratic ranks.
Reference has been made to Mr. Hopper's marriage. This occurred July 14, 1844, uniting him with Miss Minerva Young, of Lafayette county, Missouri. who died February 24. 1891. The eldest of the ten children born of this mar- riage was Eliza, born April 23. 1846; she is the wife of Isaac F. Cook, and re- sides on the ranch given to her by her father. John William, now a capitalist in Santa Rosa, was the first white child born in Nevada, his birth occurring Aug- tist 30. 1847, at the sink of the Humboldt, while the family were crossing the plains. Wesley Lee, a capitalist of Santa Rosa, was born January 25, 1852, and a sketch of his life will be found elsewhere in this volume. Disy Eveline was boru July 9. 1854, and by her marriage with Joseph Spottswood became the mother of two children, Thomas H. and Minerva Bell, the latter of whom be- came the wife of O. F. Leppo; Mrs. Spottswood died February 28, 1878. Mary E., born December 16. 1856, is the wife of Frank Roberts and lives on a por- tion of the old home ranch. Henry Thomas, born July 28, 1860, is a well-known sheep-raiser and active citizen of Ukiah. Cal .. where he is serving as president of the Ukialı Bank. Rosa Belle. born March 22. 1865, became the wife of El- mer Ludwig, by whom one daughter was born, Hazel Bell. Mrs. Ludwig's second marriage was with Dr. McNeal, but he is also deceased and she now makes her home in Seattle, Wash. Hazel Bell Ludwig resides with her grand- mother, Mrs. T. J. Ludwig, of San Francisco. This large family of children have cause to be proud of their pioneer father and mother, who long before the gold seekers paved the way for oncoming thousands, comparatively alone and single-handed blazed a trail through the wilderness.
RICHARD PAUL HUNT.
If the statement is made that a person is a native of California it is almost invariably followed by one saying that he is still a resident of the state, and in many cases has not crossed the border line of his native state. All of this may be said of Mr. Hunt, a well-known and prosperous rancher in the vicinity of Sebastopol. Born in Sierra county in 1862, he is a son of William J. and Lucy (Jackson) Hunt, who had come to the west the year previous to the birth of their son. A mining experience of two years in Humboldt county was followed by the removal of the elder Mr. Hunt to the Sacramento valley, but shortly afterward he returned to the mines. His hopes for success in the mines made him loath to give up the venture, but an experience of several years without any perceptible gain induced him to abandon the undertaking, and in 1865 he came
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to Sonoma county. Purchasing a ranch in the Blucher valley near Sebastopol, he settled down to the less exciting though more profitable life of the agricul- turist, and here he passed away in 1907. The Gravenstein apple now so gen- erally known in this part of the county had not been grown successfully up to the time of his locating here, but by making a faithful study of the conditions necessary for the cultivation of this special variety, he finally won the day, re- sulting in its becoming the favorite apple grown throughout this section of country. Mrs. Hunt died on the home ranch in Sonoma county in 1873, leaving three children, as follows: Joseph H., a well-known resident of Oakland, and the proprietor of canneries in various parts of the state; Richard Paul; and Mrs. E. E. Morford, of Sebastopol.
Richard P. Hunt was a young child when he came with his parents to the ranch in Blucher valley, and in the schools of this locality he was well edu- cated. Under his father's training he received a good insight into the best methods of farming, especially in raising fruit, and the application of these principles on his own ranch has shown them to be sound. When he felt com- petent to undertake the management of a property of his own he purchased a ranch of twenty acres not far from the old homestead, which he developed and planted to apples. Gravensteins take the lead, his shipments of this variety amounting to three thousand boxes, Spitzenbergs two hundred boxes, and New- town pippins one hundred boxes annually. As he looks with pride upon the rows upon rows of trees heavily laden with their luscious fruit Mr. Hunt calls to mind the time when his father located in the valley and saw this country cov- ered with brush and willows, with only a cabin here and there to denote that settlers were coming in. The elder Mr. Hunt built one of the first houses erected in the valley. None but the main county roads had been marked out at this time, and it remained with the farmers to make their own highways.
The marriage of Richard P. Hunt in 1900 united him with Miss Cora Belle Harris, a native of Tehama county, Cal., where her father, S. F. Harris, had located in an early day. One son, Raymond, has blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hunt. Fraternally Mr. Hunt is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and politically is independent, voting for the man whose qual- ifications for the office make him the better candidate.
JAMES B. BLOOM.
Among the foreign-born citizens who have contributed to the upbuilding of this Pacific commonwealth a goodly share of credit belongs to those who had their origin in the little republic of Switzerland. Among those who made an impress upon the well-being of that portion of the state included in Marin and Sonoma counties in particular was the late James B. Bloom, who passed from the scenes of earth over seventeen years ago, but who is still remembered as one of the vitalizing influences in bringing to the fore the latent possibilities of this section of country. The work which he laid down has not been allowed to retrograde, for his sons, who are imbned with the same spirit of progress and perseverance that made his success possible, are continuing it along broader and more extended lines, and when the final history of this part of the state shall have
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been written it will of necessity give a large share of credit for its development to the Bloom family, both father and sons.
James B. Bloom was born in Brontallo, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, July 24, 1842, and in his birthplace he was reared and educated. After his school days were over, however, he became restive in his circumscribed surroundings and decided to come to the new world and at the age of eighteen he set sail for his new home across the waters. Landing at the harbor of New York, a stranger and alone and yet not regretting the step which he had undertaken, after a rest of two weeks he re-embarked on a vessel bound for the Pacific coast via the Panama route, and on May 6, 1861, he reached San Francisco. From the metrop- olis he at once made his way to Marin county, where he was fortunate in finding employment as a farm hand, and by saving his earnings he was finally able to purchase land of his own in Chelino valley. This was in 1866, and the property which he then purchased was the home of the family for many years and is still a part of the large acreage owned by the family. With a definite object in view, Mr. Bloom set about improving the land and in three years time he felt justified in bringing his promised bride to the home which he had prepared for her. In the spring of 1869 he returned to Switzerland, and on May 4 of that year a marriage ceremony was performed which united the lives of James B. Bloom and Lucia M. Fiori. A few days later, on May 15, they set sail for the United States, coming directly to Marin county, Cal., and the home which they here built up was the scene of a happy united family, whose greatest sorrow was the loss of the husband and father October 26, 1893. Industrious and persevering throughout his life, he increased his holdings from time to time by the purchase of land in Marin and other counties, stocking his home place with cattle, and finally came to be known as one of the wealthy citizens of this section of the state. Notwithstanding his deep love for and interest in his adopted home, he never forgot his early home across the waters and during a visit to his native village of Brontallo in 1889 he donated a large fountain to the village as a me- mento of his birthright and as an expression of his regard for the associations of his childhood.
Brontallo, Switzerland, was also the birthplace of Mrs. Bloom, her birth occurring January 13, 1850, and she was therefore a bride of only nineteen years when she came to her new home in America. Eleven children came to bless their marriage, but of the number three are now deceased. Named in the order . of their birth they are as follows: Amelia V., the wife of Michael DeMartin ; Sabina D., deceased; Adolph John; Leopoldina O., wife of H. J. Dado; Clorinda T., the wife of S. J. Maggetti ; Claudina L., who became the wife of A. A. Dado, and is now deceased: Americo J .; Charles E .; Plauso G .; Eva I. (deceased), and James B.
After the death of the fatlier the eldest son, Adolph J. Bloom, took charge of the old home place in the Chelino valley, consisting of seven hundred acres. In common with the majority of ranches in this part of the state the Bloom ranch was given over to poultry-raising and dairying, and the passing of years has noted a steady enlargement of acreage and increase of business along all lines. Subsequently Americo J. became associated with his brother in the management of the growing interests, and for a number of years the business of the ranch was carried on under the name of Bloom Brothers. In February, 1910, the
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brothers incorporated their holdings under the name of The Bloom Company, of which Adolph J. Bloom is president and treasurer, Lucia M. Bloom vice- president, and Americo J. Bloom secretary. This consists of the Bloom home ranch of seven hundred and seventeen acres, the Bloom ranch of six hundred and forty acres near l'etaluma, and a one-third interest in the Santa Ysabel rancho at Santa Ysabel, San Diego county. On the home ranch may be seen a herd of two hundred milch cows, of the Jersey-Durham breed, and in con- nection with the dairy the brothers maintain a creamery, in which is made the finest quality of butter and cheese. There are also on the place ten thousand White Leghorn chickens, a herd of eighty goats, and twenty head of horses. Aside from growing sufficient hay and feed for their cattle the brothers do not engage in farming, finding it more profitable to use the land for other purposes. They conservatively estimate that the annual income from each cow is $65, and their gross receipts from the poultry industry were $10,000 for the season of 1909, all of which goes to prove their wisdom in the use of the land. Altogether the Bloom estate now comprises seven thousand acres of land. In 1909 Mrs. Lucia M. Bloom removed from the ranch to Petahunna, where she intends to pass her remaining years.
In 1904 Adolph J. Bloom removed to Petaluma and bought a tract of land known as Cedar Grove Park. This he has subdivided and sold to residents who . take pride in making the subdivision what all residents recognize it to be, one of the finest residence sections of the town and surrounding country. Mr. Bloon is president of the California Savings Bank of Petaluma and also a director in the Petaluma National Bank. He has a pleasant home in Petaluma, where he resides with his wife, who before her marriage, in 1904, was Miss Eva Howell, the daughter of Orrin and Elizabeth (Brookes) Howell, of Hopland, Cal. Adolph J. Bloom is a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Elks.
Americo J. Bloom is the manager of the Sonoma county ranch, comprising six hundred and forty acres. Here he maintains a hatchery of sixty-eight in- cubators, with a capacity of five hundred and four eggs each, from which he realizes thirty thousand chicks at each hatch. He also has ninety cows, twenty head of hogs and eight head of horses. His marriage united him with Miss Vivian Filippini, a daughter of Charles Filippini, of whom a sketch will be found elsewhere in this volume. One child has been born of this marriage, Stella.
IRA BIDWELL.
The life which this narrative depicts began in Lafayette county, Mo., August 8. 1828. and came to a close in Sonoma county, Cal., in 1893. The first epoch in the career of this well-known California pioneer was passed within a mile and a half of Lexington, Mo., where he attended school when it was possible to be spared from the work of the home farm. Later he undertook farming in earnest and it was while working in the field that the news of the finding of gold in California reached his ears. He was not the only one in the locality who was impressed by the news. as was demonstrated by the large party made up of resi- dents of Cass and Henry counties to cross the plains to the eldorado in 1850. Wr. Bidwell joined this band of argonauts, who followed the main trail via Fort
MR. AND MRS. S. W. PURRINGTON.
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Hall and down the Humboldt, over what was known as the Carson route. After a journey of six months, not unmixed with adventure, the party finally arrived at Georgetown, where Mr. Bidwell mined for one year.
The records do not so state, but it is safe to say that Mr. Bidwell did not meet with the hoped-for success in his mining venture, for at the end of his year's experience at Georgetown he came to Sonoma county, just a few days before Christmas of 1852, and located on a ranch near the old Franklin Bidwell place half a mile from the Russian river and near the land owned by Capt. H. D. Fitch and Cyrus Alexander. At that time Ira Bidwell and Cyrus Alexander were the only residents of the valley. Game of all kinds was plentiful at that time and hunting offered great possibilities to those who liked the sport. Mr. Bidwell followed hunting as a means of livelihood for a considerable period, finding a ready market in San Francisco, the game being hauled to Sonoma, and shipped from there by launch to the city. Deer meat brought from twelve and a half to twenty cents a pound, and all other game brought equally good prices. Mr. Bidwell was considered an excellent shot, and during those early days many grizzly bears fell before his unerring aim. In 1857 he gave up hunting and went to Block Mountain, where he selected a ranch upon which he lived for one year. during this time setting out an orchard and otherwise improving the land. Vari- ous tracts of land were thus bought and improved and finally sold, but in 1876 he purchased and located upon the ranch which was his home thereafter until his death. During the time he managed the property he made a specialty of stock-raising, having six hundred acres stocked with cattle and sheep, but finally he turned the enterprise over to his two sons, John and James.
The marriage of Ira Bidwell was celebrated in Missouri and united him with Miss Elizabeth Brooks, who passed away in 1855 leaving three children, John, James and Nancy, the latter of whom later became the wife of James Anderson. Mr. Bidwell's second marriage was with Miss Caroline Howard, who was born in McDonald county, Mo .. the daughter of William and Rachel ( Markham) Howard. Mr. and Mrs. Howard originally came from Tennessee, going from there to Missouri, and in 1854 they made the overland journey across the plains. She died in June. 1891.
SAMUEL WALTER PURRINGTON.
Numbered among the prominent and substantial citizens of Santa Rosa is Samuel Walter Purrington, whose thrifty ranch is one of the busiest centers in the agricultural community of which he is a resident. As a citizen he is held in high repute, and by his excellent character and straightforward business course in life he has fully established himself in the esteem and confidence of his neighbors and associates.
A native son of the state and also of Sonoma county, S. W. Purrington was born in Two Rock valley January 1. 1861, one of five children born to his parents, Joseph and Frances (Hogg) Purrington, natives of Mattapoisett. Mass., and England, respectively. The father is now deceased, but the mother is still living and a resident of Santa Rosa, where she is beloved by all who know her for her kindness and fine traits of character. Of late years her health has not been as robust as formerly. She came from England in a sailing ves-
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sel and reached her destination after a voyage of sixteen weeks on the Atlan- tic. She and her companions crossed the Isthmus of Panama and there took steamer for San Francisco. Sixty of the passengers died of fever. For some time after her arrival in San Francisco she was matron of a hospital in that city. In the east Joseph Purrington had learned the trade of ship carpenter before he was sixteen years of age, and was industriously working at this trade in Mattapoisett, Mass., when the attractions of the west proved too strong to allow him to remain contented with work at his trade any longer. The year 1853 found him emigrating to California via the Isthmus, and throughout his life he never had any regrets that fate turned his footsteps westward, where, in this land of opportunity, he realized the expectations of his young manhood. In San Francisco, in 1855, he was united in marriage with Frances Hogg, their union resulting in the birth of two sons and three daughters, as follows: Sam- nel W .; Henry L .; Elizabeth M., who married R. B. Sinclair of Graton; Elinor F., who married W. B. Tedford, of Santa Ana, Cal .; and Margaret, who mar- ried J. H. Ballard, of Graton. Henry Lincoln Purrington, the younger of the two sons, chose as his wife Nellie Wilber, and three sons and three daughters were born to them.
Samuel W. Purrington received such education as the common schools of Two Rock valley and Petaluma afforded, and early in life turned his thoughts toward the establishment of a ranch enterprise, thus following in the footsteps of his father in the choice of an occupation. Not far from Santa Rosa he has several ranches, in all about five hundred and twenty-two acres, of which one hundred and forty acres are in hops, forty acres in wine grapes, twenty acres in prunes, thirty acres in apples of the Gravenstein variety, eighty acres in hay, and the balance of the land is used for pasture and as a runway for his chickens. In his hennery he has about four thousand laying hens, besides three thousand young chicks, this one enterprise of itself being sufficient to occupy the time and attention of anyone less ambitious than is Mr. Purrington. His income from hops during the year 1909 was $20,000, the grapes bringing $1,500, prunes $1.500, while the sale of eggs and chickens this year amounted to $7,500. From these figures some idea of the enormity of the undertaking which Mr. Purring- ton is maintaining with such wonderful ability may be realized. His is the mas- terhand that keeps all departments of the ranch running without halt or fric- tion, and he abundantly merits the reputation which is his, namely that of being one of the most successful and versatile ranchers in Sonoma county.
On January 1, 1885, in this county, Mr. Purrington was united in mar- riage with Miss Louise H. Miller, a native of this county and a daughter of Thomas B. and Mary Ann (King) Miller, both pioneers of Sonoma county. where they had lived since their marriage, which took place just over the line in Marin county. This had also been the home of Mr. Miller before his marriage, but Mrs. Miller had been a resident of Marin county. Mr. Miller passed away January 26, 1892, and his wife sur- vived until January 9, 1904. The Miller family was of southern origin, and James P. Miller, the grandfather of Mrs. Purrington, was a native of Virginia, who served as second lieutenant of the Twelfth United States Infantry in the Mexican War; his wife, Charlotte (Bell) Miller, was a native of Tennessee. After the close of the Mexican war. Mr. Miller, with his two sons, Thomas B.
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and Gideon T., immigrated to California, locating in Placer county, where they opened a store of general mining supplies, but not meeting with the hoped-for success, the father returned to his home in the south in 1850. Thomas B. Miller was not so easily discouraged, however, and after this experience came to Sonoma county in 1851, and engaged in farming near Sebastopol. From there he removed to Marin county, where he farmed until 1855, when he moved to Healdsburg, making that city his home until 1874, when he came to Santa Rosa and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land five miles from town, on Santa Rosa creek, upon which he engaged in agricultural and horti- cultural pursuits throughout the remainder of his life. Of the children born of the marriage of Thomas B. and Mary Ann (King) Miller, we mention the fol- lowing : James P. is a resident of Russian River; Charlotte E. is the wife of E. H. Parnell and resides near Graton; Thomas Boone is an extensive hop- grower in Russian River township; Louise H. is the wife of Mr. Purrington; Mary Alice is the wife of Alexander Ragle, of Eldorado county; Irene B. is the wife of S. E. Ballard and resides in San Jose; Josephine is Mrs. Spencer Grogan, of Santa Rosa; Laura E. is the widow of Thomas Barlow, of Sebas- topo !; Henrietta is the wife of F. Byron Chenoweth, of San Francisco; and Robert L. is deceased. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Purrington, a daughter and son. Edna Irena, born January 9, 1886, married Marion Mor- gan, of Morgan, Texas, and she died September 14, 1908; Joseph Miller was born May 31, 1887, and is a valuable assistant to his father in the care of the ranch. Mrs. Purrington is an intelligent and well-educated woman, a graduate of Pierce Christian College, and with her husband is interested in upbuilding projects in the community in which they live. Both are members of the Chris- tian Church of Santa Rosa. Politically Mr. Purrington is a Republican. Per- sonally he is a man of high mental and moral calibre, no one in the vicinity of Santa Rosa bearing a better record for absolute sincerity and devotion to the highest welfare of his home city, county and state.
HON. EZEKIEL DENMAN.
The records of the Denman family show that it is of English origin and the founder of the name on this side of the Atlantic was the grandfather of Hon. Ezekiel Denman, whose name appears above. William Denman, for such was the name of this immigrating ancestor, came to America with his wife and children, among the latter of whom was William Denman, Jr., who was then three years of age. The family settled in Sullivan county, N. Y., and there the son passed his boyhood and youth upon the home farm, in the mean- time becoming familiar with its duties and responsibilities, and upon attaining mature years settled upon a farm of his own in the same county. There he ultimately became well known as a successful farmer and stock-raiser, and there too he reared to lives of usefulness nine children in whose welfare and accom- plishments he took a just pride. The mother of these children was Nancy Curry in maidenhood, a native of Sullivan county, N. Y.
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